15YO doesn’t want more time with mom

Posting for my husband. We have been dealing with this stuff for almost 4 years.

My ex-wife had/has a drinking problem. We’ve been divorced for 8 years. I had only 4 overnights a month, paid $1,000 in child support and a bunch of other stuff. Whatever, it was for our daughter. 6 years ago, she got a DUI on Christmas Eve with our daughter, and I was never called. Fast forward to 2021 I receive a text from my daughter stating that her mom was passed out drunk on the couch. I immediately went and got her. A few days later, I filed an emergency modification order, since our daughter refused to go back to mom’s. It took over a year to get that all figured out. Then in 2024, not even a year later, she files for 50/50. From supervised visits to 6 overnights a month and a day during the week, to 50/50.

Our daughter is 15 almost 16. The GAL FINALLY ruled against 50/50, but now she’s asking for court-ordered holidays, vacation time, and more time in the summer.

I’m losing my mind. How can she continue to ask for more? You give an inch, she takes a mile. Our daughter is saying she doesn’t want more time with her mom. She wants it to happen naturally without the stress of court looming. I can’t blame her. She’s a very smart and articulate kid, which the GAL also stated.

I gave into the holidays (we both get the same amount of holidays a year) and a week vacation, but that is it. I really think she’s going to come back with something else because that’s not good enough.

Honestly, I’m ready to go to trial. Thoughts?

You and your daughter need to get strategic. She needs a driver’s license, and a car, and then she can leave her mother’s house anytime she feels uncomfortable. Judges generally respect teens’ autonomy.

At 15 years old, she should have the right to say where she wants to be. If she doesn’t want more time with her mom, that should be considered.

And she said she wants no more time with her mom. The GAL disagreed with 50/50 and recommended that more time should happen naturally. Now we received an email from her lawyer about vacation time and increased parenting time in summer. I’m about to blow a gasket!

Your daughter needs to make it very clear in writing that she does not want to be with her mother. The GAL is not doing their job if they’re not advocating for her wishes.

Thank you for your response. I really appreciate it.